Abstract

Women are constantly underrepresented in the UK construction industry due to various
barriers they face in entering, remaining and progressing in the industry. The lack of
women employees has become a prominent issue as the industry needs to tackle the
shortage of skilled labour and manage equality and diversity issues in construction.
Taking both of these problems into account, there is a need for a 'two-way' dialogue
between women and the construction industry to increase women's representation while
benefiting the construction industry through women's contributions. Many research
studies have focused on how the industry could help women by removing any barriers
they face. However, there is a dearth of research focusing on the contributions made by
women to the construction industry to benefit the industry. This has been identified as the
knowledge gap in the field of study.
Women managers are the focus of this study for three reasons namely; they have been in
the industry for long enough to understand the context, culture and difficulties; they have
already progressed in their career while in the industry, despite the barriers identified and
they have attained a position where they possess a certain level of power and authority to
make decisions and influence policy.
This research is philosophically placed in the phenomenological paradigm and adopts an
exploratory, multiple and holistic case study research approach. A literature review and a
series of interviews with experts were undertaken to improve the knowledge of the field
of study and associated concepts pertaining to the research. In-depth interviews, personal
attributes questionnaires, multifactor leadership questionnaires and a literature review
formed the data collection techniques. Content analysis and cognitive mapping techniques
were used for analysis of the semi structured interviews.
The contributions made by women managers at various levels of the construction industry
have been explored, and during this exploration the research analysed the leadership
styles and personal attributes of women managers. Mentoring and coaching; problem
resolution; team management; collaboration; leadership; decision making; role models;
career awareness and image campaign; and cultural improvements are identified as the
major contributions made by women managers to the construction industry. The research
also identified the factors influencing and the benefits of the contributions made by
women managers.